The document discusses how law firms are using social media for marketing, recruiting, and client support. It provides statistics on law firm adoption of social media profiles and content creation. While most firms have social media presences, they are not fully engaging with clients and communities online. Firms cite concerns over client confidentiality and difficulty controlling social media as reasons for this disconnect. The document advocates for firms to practice "corporate journalism" by sharing compelling stories online in order to build their brands and demonstrate thought leadership, and to fully integrate this content marketing with social media engagement.

1. Clio Cloud Conference 2014
SEPTEMBER 22 – 23, 2014 · CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

2. Social Media For Legal Professionals
by David Lat
AboveTheLaw.com
@DavidLat
@ATLblog
Clio Cloud Conference 2014 #ClioCloud9

3. The Power of Social Media
• 1 in 5 couples meet online (and among
gay couples, the number is 3 in 5).
• If Facebook were a country, it would be
the world’s third-largest by population.
• A new member joins LinkedIn every
second.
• Every minute, 24 hours worth of video
are uploaded to YouTube.
Opening Remarks at LegalTech 2014 by Jason Thomas, Chief Innovation
Officer at Thomson Reuters.

4. 74% of Adults use Social Networks

5. 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2025
Source:
Mashable

6. 100% of business decision-makers
use social media for work purposes

7. What Are Firms Using Social Media For?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
90%
39%
31%
22%
Marketing
Recruiting
Client Support
Internal Collaboration &
Communication

8. Many firms have profiles.
Am Law 50 Firms With Social Media Pages
64%
94%
90%
100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Google+
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
30% have an active page
Source: Above the Law / Good2bSocial Social Firm Index

9. Almost all firms create content.
Am Law 50 Firms:
Publication of Non-Promotional
Content
More than
once/week
80%
Monthly
Weekly
10%
6%
4% Not at all
Source: Above the Law / Good2bSocial Social Firm Index

10. Some firms share content.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Firm Blog
Slideshare
Pinterest
Instagram
Am Law 50 Firms and Content Sharing

11. 60% of law firms content is not
shareable 

12. Firm Social Media Policy for Attorneys
“Solos and small firms seem
to be leading the way in this
category. At my firm, we use
social media to engage with
clients, prospective clients,
and referral sources, a
practice that was actively
discouraged at the big law
firm I left to go solo. Social
media lets me build stronger
relationships with my clients
and colleagues.”
Encourage
Use
53%
Discourage
Use
42%
No Official
Policy
5%
39% of attorneys aren’t aware of their firm’s social media policy
Source: ATL Social Media Insider Survey

13. In Sum
Firms have dipped
their toe in social
media – setting up
profiles, assigning
PR feeds
Firms are actively
creating digital
content for
marketing and
recruitment.
Firms are not engaging the
communities online.

14. Why the disconnect?
1 + 1 =

15. Don’t believe clients are on social

16. Client confidentiality

17. Control can be difficult.

18. Pay attention to what’s being said about you online. It
is influential, especially for the millennial generation.
Source:
Mashable
“UGC” is user-generated content like user reviews, discussions on social,
blogs.

19. Control your story.

20. If you don’t tell your own
story, others will tell it for
you. We now live in a
world in which no matter
whether we are a B2B
company or a consumer
company, there’s a
conversation about our
brand that is going on
24/7, and we have to listen
to it. There’s no excuse for
being tone-deaf.
Lisa Shalett, Advisory Director Economist Lean Back CMOment

21. What Firms Are Doing Instead:
Corporate Journalism
“combines an organization’s market intelligence and
subject-matter expertise with the credibility and
narrative techniques of professional journalism.”
“allows organizations to ‘act like media companies’
by shaping and sharing the most compelling stories
they have to tell in order to demonstrate thought
leadership and build brand awareness.”
2014 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey by
ALM, Greentarget & Zeughauser Group

22. 78% of in-house counsel report corporate
journalism credible or somewhat credible
Source:
2014 State of
Digital &
Content
Marketing
Survey

23. Corporate journalism and content marketing
need to be fully integrated with social.
“Talking about oneself
incessantly is a
despicable practice in
social situations, and
the same can be said
for brand’s marketing
strategy.”
– Stephanie Losee, Managing Editor
of Dell Communications

24. Why?
#1 – Listen, engage, and offer a better service.
#2 – Amplification. Distributing on your own social network drives more readers
than those interested in you alone.

25. Blogging

26. Twitter

27. LinkedIn

28. Facebook

29. Google Plus

30. YouTube

31. Thank you for listening!
Clio Cloud Conference 2014 #ClioCloud9